A message from President Chiang

May 18, 2026

Dear Purdue Students and Colleagues, 

Last week was a particularly happy time here on our beautiful campus, with more than 10,000 new alumni graduating with their Purdue degrees. At the end of the ninth and last session, as the graduates and families spontaneously started to stand up and clap to the chorus of “Hail, Hail To Old Purdue,” it was a particularly emotional moment for me as well. I believe that, with the university’s momentum and stability both in excellent shape today and coinciding with the timeline of my family’s next chapter, this summer will be the right time to pass the baton to the next leader of our remarkable university.

Throughout the past nine years and in several capacities, it has been an incredible honor and joy for me to work with the amazing board, colleagues, students and alumni. There truly is something special at Purdue: not just the projects and programs, but the people. When I look back at the past four years along with the seniors, we again appreciate how blessed we are to be part of the Boilermaker team that worked each day to make Purdue the most sturdy and strategic institution of higher education in the country today. Thanks to you, Purdue is on a clear institutional trajectory upward and forward, beyond any single individual’s presence, with an even brighter future.

I remember the first time I learned how to sing the fight song in May 2017. It has now become part of who I am: each time the music begins, my feet start tapping, and my right arm gets ready to wave that “Boiler Up!” Thank you, for sharing many parts of your past nine years growing with my family and me here at Purdue.

Always a Boilermaker, and Ever Grateful.

Mung Chiang
President, Purdue University